HAMDEN, Conn. – The Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team earned the No. 9 ranking in the USCHO.com weekly poll for the second consecutive week, announced on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. The Bobcats are now entering their 14th consecutive week ranked in the USCHO Top 10 as they currently stand 16-4-6 overall and 7-3-4 in ECAC Hockey competition.

USCHO.com Division I Women's Weekly Poll (Jan. 27, 2014)

Rank

Team

First Place Votes

Record

Points

Previous Week

1

Minnesota

(15)

24-1-1

150

1

2

Wisconsin

21-3-2

135

2

3

North Dakota

16-5-3

106

3

4

Clarkson

19-4-3

96

6

5

Harvard

16-2-2

93

5

6

Cornell

14-3-4

78

4

7

Boston College

18-4-3

67

7

8

Robert Morris

20-4-2

52

8

9

Quinnipiac

16-4-6

29

9

10

Mercyhurst

15-7-3

18

NR

Others receiving votes: Boston University 1.

Quinnipiac was idle this past weekend as they prepare to continue ECAC competition this coming weekend. On Friday, Jan. 31, Quinnipiac will host Dartmouth at 7 PM. On Saturday, Feb. 1, the TD Bank Sports Center will host a top 10 matchup when the No. 1 team in ECAC Hockey and nationally-ranked No. 5 Harvard Crimson come to town.

Senior Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) has been a lethal scorer for her team as she currently is fifthin the country in points (37) with 15 goals and 22 assists through 26 games. Shouldering the load for Quinnipiac on offense has been their junior forward Shiann Darkangelo (Brighton, Mich.) who has made an immediate impact as a transfer from Syracuse University with 16 goals as she currently sits in sole possession of seventh place among the nation's leaders in goal scorers.

Even with those explosive scorers, the Bobcats' calling card this season has been their defense as they've allowed only 35 goals in 26 games for a goals against average of 1.35, good enough for fifth-best in the country. Anchoring the strong defensive play has been their junior goalie Chelsea Laden (Lakeville, Minn.) who has occupied a spot among the nation's best goaltenders all season. She currently ranks fifth in GAA (1.29) and eighth in save percentage (.936) while she sits in sole possession of third place with six shutouts.

Student-Athletes, parents and fans can download the 2013-14 QU Athletics schedules to your laptop and mobile devices for free by clicking in the iCalendar link at the bottom of each sport's homepage or the master schedule page. Fans can also follow Quinnipiac Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@QUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates.